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Your Bibles now to Isaiah 62, 
Isaiah 62. 

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You can find that on page 621 in
the chair Bibles around you. 

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Isaiah 62 is it's connected to 
the, the chapter that precedes 

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it. 
And just two verses before this 

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chapter, we read of, of God's 
people being like a bride 

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adorned with jewels. 
And this, this wedding theme 

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continues into this 62nd chapter
as we hear Isaiah's vision of a 

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wedding. 
And it's the greatest wedding 

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that all other weddings point 
to. 

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It's the marriage between Christ
and his bride, the church. 

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This is our future wedding. 
And in this vision we see some 

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essential wedding elements that 
we see in weddings today, a 

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public gathering of witnesses. 
The bride is given a new name, 

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the bridegroom delights in and 
rejoices over his bride, and 

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there is a solemn vow. 
So look for these elements now 

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as we read Isaiah 62. 
For Zion's sake I will not keep 

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silent, and for Jerusalem's sake
I will not be quiet until her 

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righteousness goes forth as 
brightness, and her salvation as

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a burning torch. 
The nation shall see your 

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righteousness, and all the kings
your glory, and you shall be 

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called by a new name that the 
mouth of the Lord will give. 

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You shall be a crown of beauty 
in the hand of the Lord, and a 

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royal diadem in the hand of your
God. 

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You shall no more be termed 
forsaken, and your land shall no

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more be termed desolate, but you
shall be called. 

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My delight is in her, and your 
land married, for the Lord 

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delights in you. 
And your land shall be married. 

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For as a young man marries a 
young woman, so shall your sons 

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marry you. 
And as the bridegroom rejoices 

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over the bride, so, so shall 
your God rejoice over you. 

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On your walls, O Jerusalem, I 
have set Watchmen all the day 

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and all the night. 
They shall never be silent. 

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You who put the Lord in 
remembrance, take no rest, and 

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give him no rest until he 
establishes Jerusalem and makes 

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it a praise in the earth. 
The Lord has sworn by His right 

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hand and by His mighty arm. 
I will not again give your grain

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to be food for your enemies, and
foreigners shall not drink your 

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wine which for which you have 
labored, but those who garner it

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shall eat it and praise the 
Lord, and those who gather it 

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shall drink it in the courts of 
my sanctuary. 

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Go through, go through the 
gates, prepare the way for the 

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people, Build up, build up the 
highway, clear it of stones, 

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lift up a signal for the 
peoples. 

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Behold, the Lord has proclaimed 
to the end of the earth. 

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Say to the daughter of Zion, 
behold, your salvation comes. 

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Behold, his reward is with him, 
and his recompense before him. 

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And they shall be called the 
holy people, the redeemed of the

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Lord, and you shall be called 
sought out, a city not forsaken.

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Let's pray, Heavenly Father, as 
we consider this profound and 

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amazing vision of this future 
wedding, the wedding of all 

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weddings. 
Lord, I pray that we would be 

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able to rest in the depth of 
your love for us, that we would 

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be changed by the identity we 
have in you, in your love. 

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So Lord, I pray that we would 
see the gospel clearly in this 

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passage. 
In Jesus name we pray, Amen. 

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A number of years ago, ESPN ran 
a series of commercials titled 

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It's Not Crazy, It's Sports 1 
commercial begins with a girl in

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different stages of her life 
talking to her friends about how

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she how she imagines that she'll
be proposed to one day. 

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She dreams of of a White Horse 
being involved, maybe a gondola,

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butterflies and words of 
desperate love as an adult. 

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Then she meets a guy that she 
really likes and she she 

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suspects that he's going to 
propose on their romantic trip 

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to the islands. 
The next clip is then of her at 

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a Detroit, her and her guy at a 
Detroit Tigers game, and all of 

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a sudden she finds herself being
proposed to on the Jumbotron in 

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response to his proposal. 
She mutters as shocked and 

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disappointed. 
Sure, And her new fiance, in his

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great joy, shouts go tigers. 
Sometimes our dreams and visions

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of what the future will be like 
just doesn't quite turn out how 

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we thought it would. 
Every love story, every marriage

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has its disappointments. 
But this vision of Isaiah, of 

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the ultimate love story, it, 
It's not a Daydream destined to 

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disappoint. 
It's a sure reality that will 

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come and will be far more 
glorious and wonderful than what

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we could ever imagine. 
As we walk through this vision, 

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we'll consider three points so 
you can see in your outline. 

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There's Zion, a vision of a 
glorious bride #2 Zion, a vision

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of a gathered bride #3 Jesus, a 
vision of a returning, rewarded 

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and rejoicing king. 
And then we'll end with So what?

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So first let's look now at the 
1st 9 verses and consider the 

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vision of Isaiah as a glorious, 
the vision of Zion as a glorious

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bride. 
In order to understand the 

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bride's glory, we'll need to 1st
understand how it how it emerges

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out of the story of her shame. 
As we've seen throughout the 

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book of Isaiah, God's been 
calling Israel to repentance for

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her rebellion against him, for 
how she's turned away from him 

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to idols and violence and 
injustices. 

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And so as we read, as we read in
Isaiah 54, Israel is like a 

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widow deserted by her husband, 
barren and without children, 

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disgraced and forsaken, being 
crushed by God's overflowing 

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anger. 
But as God promised in that 

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chapter, his anger would be but 
for a moment, because He has 

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loved his people with an 
everlasting love. 

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And so as we come to the first 
verse of chapter 62, we hear 

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that Zion is still in her shame,
in desperate need of 

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righteousness and salvation. 
Look with me at verse one. 

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For Zion's sake I will not keep 
silent, and for Jerusalem's sake

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I will not be quiet until her 
righteousness goes forth as 

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brightness, and her salvation as
a burning torch. 

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The first question we must ask 
of this verse here is, is who is

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the I speaking here? 
Is it Isaiah or is it the 

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anointed one? 
From the beginning of Isaiah 61,

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the Spirit of the Lord has 
anointed me. 

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Commentators differ here, and 
neither interpretation has any 

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major problems. 
If it is the anointed one 

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speaking, it aligns well with 
how we know that the 

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righteousness and salvation of 
God's people comes from God 

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speaking His Word, His Gospel, 
into their hearts. 

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If if this is Isaiah speaking, 
we know that he is proclaiming 

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God's word, that the gospel of 
the suffering servant, the 

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anointed. 1 And we know that 
people are saved by that 

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message. 
And in one sense, because Isaiah

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is being inspired by the Spirit 
of Christ, it is true in another

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sense that both Jesus and the 
prophet are speaking. 

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Here God and God's prophets will
not be silent. 

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They will persist in proclaiming
the good news of repentance and 

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faith of the coming Kingdom of 
Jesus Christ until all the bride

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of Christ is saved, her shame is
removed, and she is clothed in 

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brilliant righteousness. 
And today we, we need this same 

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kind of passionate persistence 
in our preachers, A commitment 

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to not let anything silence our 
proclamation of the gospel. 

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We we certainly need God to 
raise up more preachers like 

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Isaiah, and may he do so in and 
through our church. 

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We also see in verse one, the 
bride's flame, her righteousness

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and her salvation are like a 
flaming torch, a light shining 

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out of the darkness. 
That that, that that theme, that

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theme of a light shining out of 
darkness. 

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That's a theme we've heard quite
a few times here in the book of 

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Isaiah. 
So why is her salvation and 

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righteousness shining forth like
a flame? 

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What's the purpose of that? 
It's to be like a beacon to the 

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whole world. 
Look at verse 2. 

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The nations shall see your 
righteousness, and all the kings

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your glory. 
Here we see the bride's global 

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fame. 
The nations and all the kings of

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the earth will see her glory. 
She will shine in beautiful 

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righteousness, a beauty and 
glory foreign to and far greater

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than anything that the world has
ever seen. 

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This is something probably 
similar to what Peter, James, 

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and John witnessed when Jesus 
was transfigured before them. 

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Is that that kind of heavenly 
glory? 

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Something that's otherworldly? 
A day is coming when all the 

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world will witness and be 
stunned by the glory of Zion. 

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In that day the wealth and 
beauty and of the rich and 

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famous will just be as like mere
rags in comparison to the glory 

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of the bride of Christ. 
So don't don't live for the 

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riches and and fame of this 
world. 

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You'll be selling yourself far 
too short. 

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There is a greater glory coming 
for those who love Christ. 

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The nations will see the bride's
global fame and the bride's 

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relationship to those nations 
will change. 

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Jump down to verses 8:00 and 
9:00. 

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Here we see that change. 
Here God gives an oath, A solemn

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marriage vow in a sense, to 
protect her from the nation's. 

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Verse 8, The Lord has sworn by 
his right hand and by His mighty

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arm. 
I will not again give your grain

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to be food for your enemies, and
foreigners shall not drink your 

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wine for which you have labored,
for those who garner it shall 

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eat it and praise the Lord, and 
those who gather it shall drink 

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it in the courts of my 
sanctuary. 

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The language here mimics the 
mimics the language of the 

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covenant blessings and curses of
Deuteronomy 28 that if Israel 

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fails to obey God, they will 
experience the curse of a 

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foreign nation coming and eating
the fruit of their land. 

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And we see that curse carried 
out with the the Babylonians. 

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But here God promises for Zion's
interactions with the nations to

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change. 
Instead of the nations being at 

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war with her and and taking her 
land and her property, the bride

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will be completely protected and
she will enjoy the fruits of her

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land forever. 
The book of Hebrews speaks of 

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this country as the better 
country, the heavenly one, 

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reminding us that that we who 
walk by faith, we are strangers 

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and exiles on earth. 
We, we don't have a holy nation,

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a holy country to go to. 
We, we're strangers and exiles 

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on earth. 
Until God gives us that heavenly

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country. 
In that country there will be no

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more need for police officers, 
military walls, or insurance. 

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Our inheritance, our promised 
land, will forever be ours with 

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no threat of loss. 
Another aspect of the Bride's 

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glory is that she's given a new 
name. 

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Read with me starting in the 
middle of verse 2. 

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And you shall be called by a new
name that the mouth of the Lord 

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will give. 
You shall be a crown of beauty 

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in the hand of the Lord, and a 
royal diadem in the hand of your

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God. 
You shall no more, no more be 

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termed forsaken. 
And your land shall no more be 

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termed desolate, but you shall 
be called. 

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My delight is in her, and your 
land married. 

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For the Lord delights in you. 
And your land shall be married. 

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In the first marriage between 
the first people, Adam and Eve, 

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the woman is given that name, 
that name woman. 

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And now here in the last 
marriage, this royal bride is 

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also given a new name and 
several new names. 

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Actually, no longer will she be 
called forsaken or desolate, but

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she shall be called Hefsibah. 
My delight is in her and Beulah,

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which means married in Christ. 
We are given a new identity to 

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replace our old shameful one. 
Our new identity is inseparably 

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tied to our relationship with 
God, to his love for us. 

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And then at the end of this 
chapter in verse 12, we're given

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four more new names, verse 12. 
And they shall be called the 

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holy people, the redeemed of the
Lord, and you shall be called, 

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sought out, a city not forsaken.
Each of these names speaks to 

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the saving work of God, the 
relentless pursuit of God to 

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seek out, redeem, and sanctify 
for himself a people. 

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And at the cross we see the 
great extent to which God 

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pursued his bride, the great 
lengths that he went to because 

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of his love for her brothers and
sisters in Christ. 

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These here in this chapter, 
these are your names. 

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This is your identity. 
This is who you are. 

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Rest in that identity, Rest in 
God's love, and then live out of

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that rest. 
Zion's future is glorious. 

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Her shame will be exchanged with
salvation and righteousness, her

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fame and beauty will be 
witnessed by the whole world. 

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Her land will be safe forever, 
and she will be given a new name

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that will always remind her of 
God's love for her and the 

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extent to which he pursued her. 
Now we come to the second point.

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Zion, a vision of a gathered 
bride. 

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A gathered bride. 
Let's look at verses 10 and 11. 

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Go through, go through the 
gates. 

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Prepare the way for the people. 
Build up, build up the highway. 

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Clear it of stones. 
Lift up a signal over the 

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peoples. 
Behold, the Lord has proclaimed 

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to the end of the earth. 
Say to the daughter of Zion, 

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Behold, your salvation comes. 
Behold, His reward is with him, 

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and his recompense before him. 
Before the bride appears before 

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her husband in all her glory, 
she must be first gathered from 

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the ends of the earth. 
In the in the 6th century BC, 

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the exile of Judah had scattered
God's people all around the 

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Middle East and beyond, And so 
there was a longing for God's 

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00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,280
people to be gathered back in 
the Promised Land. 

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And while this may be a prophecy
in part of the return of the 

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00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,520
Exiles in the days of of 
Zerubbabel and Ezra and 

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00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:45,240
Nehemiah, I think this this 
passage is ultimately fulfilled 

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at Christ's second coming. 
In verse 10 we hear the repeated

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calls for people to enter 
through the gates of Jerusalem 

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for the for the roads of the 
city to be built and cleared for

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the coming bride. 
In verse 11 we see that God has 

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sent a proclamation out to the 
ends of the earth to alert the 

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daughter of Zion scattered 
abroad that her time of 

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00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:12,880
salvation has come. 
Jesus taught this very thing in 

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Matthew 24, saying, And he, the 
Son of Man, will send out his 

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angels with a loud trumpet call,
and they will gather his elect 

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00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,920
from the four winds, from one 
end of heaven to the other. 

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Here Jesus speaks of the 
gathering of God's elect, which 

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refers not just to Jewish 
believers, but to Gentile 

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believers as well. 
I think this command here, this 

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command to prepare the way for 
the bride is something that we 

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00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,240
as a church today that we need 
to hear and heed. 

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00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:47,440
This is something that we can 
obey even now. 

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00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:51,840
The highway to Christ is often 
obstructed for some people, or 

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maybe there's not even a road at
all. 

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00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:58,120
So practically, how do we 
prepare the way for the bride to

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be gathered through the 
discipleship of our children, 

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00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,160
through evangelism and missions,
and through the regular 

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00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,680
preaching of God's Word, people 
hear the gospel and come to 

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faith in Christ. 
We prepare the way by calling 

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00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,560
people to turn away from their 
sins, sin. 

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00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,320
That's the that's the biggest 
obstacle on the road between 

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00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:23,560
between them and Christ. 
We prepare the way by by 

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00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:28,560
building trusting and loving 
relationships with people that 

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that don't know Christ, getting 
that that relationship going 

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00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,480
where there then can be a 
context for speaking the gospel.

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00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,160
We also prepare the road to 
Christ for his lecture on the 

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00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:46,240
world through Bible translation 
and distribution, or as we heard

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00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,360
about for what the Mccafferty's 
are doing, translation of the 

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00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:52,080
Catechism and other other 
wonderful resources. 

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00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:55,960
As people hear God's word in 
their language for the first 

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00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:00,520
time, they can hear of the 
narrow Rd. of faith that can 

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00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,640
lead them to God. 
The bride of Christ will be 

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made-up of people from every 
tongue, tribe, language and 

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00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,960
nation. 
And so as a church, let's do our

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part to make the path to Jesus 
more accessible to others. 

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00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,360
So that's the that's the vision 
of the glorious and gathered 

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00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:24,440
bride. 
And so now we'll consider the 

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bridegroom, Jesus, the 
returning, rewarded and 

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00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,520
rejoicing king. 
So look with me again at verse 

278
00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:38,440
11. 
The word behold is spoken again 

279
00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,840
and again and again in this 
verse, three times calling Zion 

280
00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:46,800
to look and see with her own 
eyes the return of Christ and 

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00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:50,560
his reward with him, his 
gathered and glorious bride. 

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00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:57,080
As you may remember, Jesus name 
means salvation, right? 

283
00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:01,680
Jesus name means salvation. 
And so when Zion looks and sees 

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00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:08,040
her salvation coming, she sees 
him and he's not alone. 

285
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,560
His reward is with him and his 
recompense before him. 

286
00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:16,880
The bride of Christ is his 
reward, His payment, in a sense,

287
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,240
for the salvation he 
accomplished with his own blood.

288
00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,160
Moravian missionaries of the 
18th century had had a had a 

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00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,360
rallying cry that echoes this 
verse. 

290
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:34,080
They would say, may the Lamb who
was slain receive the reward of 

291
00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:38,080
his suffering. 
May the Lamb who was slain 

292
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,320
receive the reward of his 
suffering. 

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00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:41,960
I think that's a really powerful
phrase. 

294
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,200
That's the goal of missions. 
That's the mission of the 

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00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,760
church, to give the Lamb who was
slain his reward. 

296
00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,360
Jesus is worthy of the cost of 
missions. 

297
00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:58,120
Jesus is worthy of the cost of 
sharing your faith. 

298
00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:02,840
Jesus is worthy of all of your 
love and devotion, for he was 

299
00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:07,800
slain and he conquered his death
and your death so that he can 

300
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,600
live with you and love you 
endlessly. 

301
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:19,040
Jesus is worthy. 
Jesus will return soon to 

302
00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:22,400
receive his glorious reward, his
bride. 

303
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,520
And and he won't be when he 
comes back. 

304
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:28,400
He won't be a stoic king, 
emotionally unattached to the 

305
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:34,000
significance of what's going on.
No, he will look. 

306
00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:40,280
He he will return as a joyful 
king rejoicing over his bride. 

307
00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:45,080
Look at look at verse 5. 
For as a young man marries a 

308
00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,600
young woman, so shall your sons 
marry you. 

309
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,480
And as the bridegroom rejoices 
over the bride, so shall your 

310
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:56,720
God rejoice over you. 
Jesus, your God in your 

311
00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,680
bridegroom will rejoice over 
you. 

312
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,880
At weddings when the bride is 
walking down the aisle, I always

313
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:07,520
make sure to to take a look over
it and see that the face of the 

314
00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,160
groom. 
A few Sundays ago, I got to 

315
00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,760
officiate Tommy and Avery 
Stanek's wedding. 

316
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,840
And it was, it was just awesome 
to see the joy on Tommy's face 

317
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:18,920
as he saw his bride for the 
first time. 

318
00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:22,960
And what a wonderful thing it is
that we can experience, in part,

319
00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:28,040
joys like that so that we can 
get a taste for the kind of joy 

320
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:32,400
that God has for us. 
And think about this God. 

321
00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,240
Think about this. 
God couldn't rejoice over us 

322
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:40,400
with boundless joy if He didn't 
forgive us, right? 

323
00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:48,040
Apart from God's forgiveness 
because of our sin, there's just

324
00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,400
really not a whole lot to be 
rejoicing over. 

325
00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:57,560
But because God forgave us our 
sins and justly dealt with them 

326
00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:02,000
by placing them upon Christ at 
the cross, He can rejoice over 

327
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:08,560
us with no hesitation and the 
joy will be mutual. 

328
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:13,680
We will respond in joy as well 
as a short of catechism family 

329
00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,920
is famously says the chief and 
the ultimate purpose for why we 

330
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,720
exist is to glorify and enjoy 
God forever. 

331
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:27,120
That's our ultimate purpose. 
But a a secondary purpose for 

332
00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:32,560
why we exist is that we might be
enjoyed by God forever. 

333
00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:37,720
God delights in not only the 
glory and enjoyment we have in 

334
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:43,760
Him, but he delights in his own 
enjoyment of us, His people. 

335
00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:49,040
He loves to love us. 
That's another reason why we 

336
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,320
exist. 
He loves to love love us. 

337
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,160
Isaiah 62 is a profound vision 
of the marriage between God and 

338
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,720
his people, the ultimate love 
story. 

339
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:06,520
So where are you in this vision?
We're all in here. 

340
00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:11,800
You're you're either in the the 
gathered royal bride, adorned 

341
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,440
and glorious being rejoiced over
by God, being given everlasting 

342
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:20,600
promises of loving protection 
and provision, or you're in the 

343
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:25,720
the nations that that witnessed 
her beauty and and righteousness

344
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,480
and salvation, but who don't 
take part in it. 

345
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:36,240
So where are you in this vision?
Only Jesus can give you that the

346
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:40,240
the the the love that your heart
has always been searching after 

347
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,960
the kind of love that you were 
created for. 

348
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,280
All other loves in this life 
will disappoint you. 

349
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,600
So come to Jesus, give yourself 
fully to him your whole self. 

350
00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:56,320
Enter into His covenant of love,
turn away from your sin, and you

351
00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:59,520
will be saved, you will be 
righteous, and you will be 

352
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,560
treasured and enjoyed and 
rejoiced over forever, 

353
00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:06,800
completely satisfied in His 
love. 

354
00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:15,780
So what? 
So how? 

355
00:25:15,780 --> 00:25:20,580
How should this vision give us a
new vision for our lives? 

356
00:25:21,500 --> 00:25:24,020
We can't just hear something 
profound and beautiful like this

357
00:25:24,020 --> 00:25:27,780
and then just walk out of these 
doors unchanged or unmotivated. 

358
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,320
First here and heed the call to 
unceasing prayer for our 

359
00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:38,080
bridegroom's return. 
Unceasing prayer for our 

360
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,920
bridegroom's return. 
We see this application from the

361
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:46,360
text itself and in in the 6th 
and 7th verses on your walls, O 

362
00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:50,560
Jerusalem, I have set Watchmen 
all the day and all the night. 

363
00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,840
They shall never be silent. 
You who put the Lord in 

364
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,960
remembrance, take no rest, and 
give him no rest until he 

365
00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:02,080
establishes Jerusalem and makes 
it a praise in the earth. 

366
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,120
Here God is calling for 
Watchmen, for men and women, 

367
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,920
boys and girls, who will be 
committed to ever watching for 

368
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:17,320
the return of Christ and His 
bride, taking no rest and 

369
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,320
praying for God to establish the
New Jerusalem and make it a 

370
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:25,960
praise in all the earth. 
Now you might think, well on 

371
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,880
Jesus promised that He would, 
He's going to return. 

372
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,280
So why do I need to watch and 
pray for it? 

373
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:32,760
What? 
What are my little prayers going

374
00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:37,680
to do about that? 
Yes, God is sovereign, and He 

375
00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,600
has His sovereign plan, but God 
works through means, and one 

376
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,120
means that He calls His people 
to again and again and again is 

377
00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:51,640
the means of prayer. 
And in this passage and in 

378
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:56,360
others, He calls us not only to 
pray, but to pray persistently 

379
00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:01,680
without ceasing. 
And so we must pray regularly 

380
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,760
for Christ's return. 
We must take no rest and in a 

381
00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:10,840
sense, give God no rest as he 
continually hears our cries for 

382
00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:17,280
His Son's return. 
Jesus spoke of fasting while the

383
00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:20,760
bridegroom is away. 
And so perhaps to support your 

384
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,120
prayers, it may be fitting to 
fast every once in a while to 

385
00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:27,280
help you focus your prayers on 
Christ's return. 

386
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:32,480
We need him to return as soon as
possible, don't we? 

387
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,760
As soon as possible if it would 
be his will. 

388
00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,480
He's just also have to 
understand that maybe he might 

389
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:45,320
be delaying because there's 
still more of his bride that 

390
00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,080
need to be won over by his 
sacrificial love. 

391
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:54,720
So let us be like Watchmen on 
the walls and take no rest in 

392
00:27:54,720 --> 00:28:00,000
our prayers. 
Secondly, we must hear and heed 

393
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,560
the call of this vision to 
boldly proclaim this good news 

394
00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,480
to the nation's. 
We should imitate the passionate

395
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,560
persistence of verse one, the 
drive to not be silent, to not 

396
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:16,920
be quiet, but to share the good 
news of Jesus with people until 

397
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,080
the world sees the light of 
their salvation. 

398
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,760
You don't need to be a pastor or
a preacher to be passionate 

399
00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:28,360
about sharing the gospel. 
Far too many of us have been 

400
00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,720
have been silent and not sharing
the hope that we have with those

401
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:38,280
around us. 
Far too long. 

402
00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:42,080
We've maybe we've been timid and
and we've just kind of let 

403
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:46,680
people live in darkness. 
For some of you, it's it might 

404
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,160
be time to finally have that 
conversation with the person 

405
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:51,560
that you're thinking about right
now. 

406
00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,440
For some of you, it's it's time 
to get some training in in 

407
00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,680
evangelism or missions. 
For some of you, it's time to 

408
00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,680
learn how to define and explain 
the gospel, get to the basics. 

409
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:10,840
For some of you, maybe it's time
to have a conversation with your

410
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:14,200
spouse or, or just take a look 
at your own calendar and say, 

411
00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:18,200
hey, what's, what are, what are 
do our priorities line up with 

412
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:23,000
God's priorities? 
For some of you, it's time to be

413
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,960
more consistent and focused in 
teaching your children about 

414
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,720
Jesus. 
For some of you, it's time to 

415
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,760
start supporting that missionary
or that ministry that you've 

416
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:37,800
been learning about. 
Now we all, we all tend towards 

417
00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:43,560
apathy when we experience 
resistance with people or, or 

418
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,000
apathy when we just see how 
pervasive the darkness is in 

419
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:47,120
this world. 
And it's just, it's just 

420
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,600
everywhere. 
And what, what can the little 

421
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,000
that I do? 
What, how can that impact all 

422
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,880
the problems in our world? 
So we, we can get apathetic. 

423
00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,520
But let's come, let's combat 
that apathy and timidity with 

424
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,560
persistent prayer, with prayer 
that that's what the apostle 

425
00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:10,400
Paul did in Ephesians chapter 6.
He gives the Ephesians a prayer 

426
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,240
request, says he pray for me. 
He says this. 

427
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:17,520
To that end, keep alert with all
perseverance. 

428
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:19,560
Be like a watchman. 
Keep alert with all 

429
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:22,120
perseverance. 
How, how, what does that look 

430
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:24,840
like? 
Making supplication for all the 

431
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:27,280
Saints. 
So praying for all the Saints, 

432
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:33,040
and also for me, that words may 
be given me in opening my mouth 

433
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,960
boldly to proclaim the mystery 
of the gospel. 

434
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:44,000
If Paul needed prayer to boldly 
share the gospel, I think we 

435
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:48,440
need prayer too. 
So let's do that right now. 

436
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:53,360
Let's pray for that boldness and
for Christ to return and make 

437
00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,240
our faith into sight. 
Let's, let's pray. 

438
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,960
Heavenly Father, we praise you 
for this glorious vision, a 

439
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,200
vision that will surely come. 
We thank you. 

440
00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,920
We're in awe of the love that 
you have for us, even us, us who

441
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:15,800
have done so much wrong, us who 
have so many reasons for shame 

442
00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:17,400
because of what we have said and
done. 

443
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:21,960
We thank you that you have 
forgiven us in Christ. 

444
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:26,360
Lord, I pray that that we would 
live in light of who we are, in 

445
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,320
light of these identities of 
love. 

446
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:35,160
And Lord, I pray that that we 
would shine forth your light, 

447
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:39,680
that we would share your gospel 
persistently, that we would pray

448
00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:42,360
persistently for the for your 
return. 

449
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:48,240
Oh Lord God, may your Kingdom 
come, may your Kingdom of glory,

450
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,360
the everlasting Kingdom, may 
that come very, very soon. 

451
00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:55,280
This we pray in Jesus name, 
Amen.